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Cane Creek Meeting House
Suffering for Peace
The Quakers (Society of Friends) were early anti-slavery supporters of the
Underground Railroad. Once the war erupted and Alamance County residents
chose sides, supporters of the Confederacy regarded the Friends
as Unionists. Never attacked directly by their neighbors, the Quakers were
subjected to various pressures to conform. The government, attempting to enforce the conscription acts,
not only tried to persuade Quaker
conscripts to renounce their faith,
but also inflicted physical and
psychological violence on them.
Solomon Frazier, of neighboring
Randolph County, endured an
experience suffered by many others.
Early in the war, Frazier paid a
$500 fine to avoid conscription. By
1864, however, when Confederate
manpower needs were acute, he was
arrested and taken to the prison at Salisbury. There, despite being beaten
to make him renounce his beliefs, he refused on religious grounds to “take up
the gun” or to serve as a prison guard. When

Cane Creek Meeting House
Suffering for Peace
The Quakers (Society of Friends) were early anti-slavery supporters of the
Underground Railroad. Once the war erupted and Alamance County residents
chose sides, supporters of the Confederacy regarded the Friends
as Unionists. Never attacked directly by their neighbors, the Quakers were
subjected to various pressures to conform. The government, attempting to enforce the conscription acts,
not only tried to persuade Quaker
conscripts to renounce their faith,
but also inflicted physical and
psychological violence on them.
Solomon Frazier, of neighboring
Randolph County, endured an
experience suffered by many others.
Early in the war, Frazier paid a
$500 fine to avoid conscription. By
1864, however, when Confederate
manpower needs were acute, he was
arrested and taken to the prison at Salisbury. There, despite being beaten
to make him renounce his beliefs, he refused on religious grounds to “take up
the gun” or to serve as a prison guard. When the officer in charge became
furious with him, Frazier said “If it is thy duty to inflict this punishment
on me, do it cheerfully; don’t get angry about it.” When rifle barrels were
leveled at his face, Frazier calmly said, “It is the Sabbath and as good a day
to die as any.” Never broken, he survived this mistreatment and the war.
William Thompson, conscripted from this Meeting (congregation),
was killed at Gettysburg, leaving a wife, Martha, and small children. At least
seven Confederate veterans are buried in the cemetery a mile west, a silent
tribute to the Friends’ spirit of forgiveness of those who did take up the gun.
As a minister for this
Meeting, Isham Cox
became the spokes man
for the Quaker community
to surrounding
faiths. His membership
on the Yearly Meeting’s
Committee on Suffering
led him to seek better
treatment for Solomon
Frazier during Frazier’s
confinement. Cox succeeded
because of his
prestige with the North
Carolina government
and finally secured
Frazier’s release.

Cane Creek Meeting House
Suffering for Peace
The Quakers (Society of Friends) were early anti-slavery supporters of the
Underground Railroad. Once the war erupted and Alamance County residents
chose sides, supporters of the Confederacy regarded the Friends
as Unionists. Never attacked directly by their neighbors, the Quakers were
subjected to various pressures to conform. The government, attempting to enforce the conscription acts,
not only tried to persuade Quaker
conscripts to renounce their faith,
but also inflicted physical and
psychological violence on them.
Solomon Frazier, of neighboring
Randolph County, endured an
experience suffered by many others.
Early in the war, Frazier paid a
$500 fine to avoid conscription. By
1864, however, when Confederate
manpower needs were acute, he was
arrested and taken to the prison at Salisbury. There, despite being beaten
to make him renounce his beliefs, he refused on religious grounds to “take up
the gun” or to serve as a prison guard. When